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55vb] “Harde gates hav Y gon, [Dominus] “Hard experiences I've endured, [Lord] (see note); (see note)
Sorewen soffred mony on! Suffered many a sorrow!
45 Thritty wynter ant thridde half yer Thirty-three and a half years
Hav Y woned in londe her. Have I dwelled here on earth.
Almost ys so muche agon So very much has happened
Seththe Y bycom furst mon — Since I first became man —
Ich have seththe tholed ant wyst I’ve since then suffered and known
50 Hot, cold, honger, ant thurst. Hot, cold, hunger, and thirst.
Mon hath do me shome ynoh Men have done me extreme dishonor
Wyth word ant dede, in heore woh — By word and deed, in their wickedness — (see note)
Bounden ant bueten, yron of blode — Bound and beaten, dripping in blood —
Demeden me to deye on rode. They judged me to die on cross.
55 For Adames sunne fol, ywis, For Adam’s foul sin, indeed,
Ich have tholed al this! I’ve suffered all of this!
Adam, thou havest aboht sore! Adam, you’ve paid grievously!
I nul soffre that no more! I’ll not tolerate it anymore!
Adam, thou hast duere aboht Adam, you’ve paid a high price
60 That thou levedest me noht. Because you didn’t believe in me.
Y shal the bringe of helle-pyne I shall deliver you from hell-pain
Ant with the alle myne!” And all of mine with you!”
“Thou miht wyten, in thy lay, Dominus ait “Be informed that, in your domain, Lord speaks (see note)
70 That mine woll Y have away. My property I will take away. (t-note)
Wost thou never whet Ych am? Don’t you know who I am?
Almost ys thritti wynter gan Almost thirty years have elapsed
That thou hast fonded me Since you tested me
Forte knowe wet Y be. To find out who I am.
75 Sunne fond thou never non You never found any sin
In me as in other mon, In me as in other men,
Ant thou shalt wyte wel today And you’ll surely see today
That mine wolle Y have away. How I will take mine away.
Wen thou bilevest al thyn one, When you give up all of yours, (see note)
80 Thenne myht thou grede ant grone!” Then may you wail and groan!”
“Par ma fey, Ich holde myne Sathan “By my faith, I claim as mine Satan (see note)
Alle tho that bueth heryne! All those who are in here!
Resoun wol Y telle the, I'll explain to you a legal fact, (see note)
Ther ageyn myht thou nouht be: Against which you can't dispute:
56ra] Whose buyth any thyng, Whoever buys anything,
86 Hit is hys ant hys ofspryng. It and its offspring belong to him.
Adam hungry com me to — Adam came to me hungry —
Monrade dude Y him me do — I made him pledge himself to me — (see note)
For on appel Ich yef hym, For an apple that I gave to him,
90 He is myn, ant al hys kun!” He is mine, and all his kin!”
115 “Ne may non me worse do Sathan “No one can do any worse to me Satan
Then Ich have had hiderto! Than I’ve already experienced!
Ich have had so muche wo I’ve had so much agony
That Y ne recche whyder Y go! That I don’t care which way I go!
Yef thou revest me of myne, If you rob me of mine,
120 Y shal reve the of thyne — I’ll rob you of yours —
Y shal gon from mon to mon I’ll go from man to man
Ant reve the of mony on!” And rob you of many a one!”
“God wot, Y shal speke the wyht, Dominus “God knows, I’ll speak to you boldly, Lord
Ant do the to holde gryht! And bid you to hold your peace!
125 So faste shal Y bynde the I’ll bind you so tightly
Lutel shalt thou reve me; That you’ll rob me of little;
Thou shalt buen in bondes ay You’ll remain bound forever
O that come Domesday. Till the coming of Doomsday.
56rb] Thou shalt never outwende You’ll never escape
130 Monkunne forte shende, To destroy mankind,
For were thou among men, For were you among men,
Thou woldest me reven moni of hem. You would rob me of many of them.
The smale fendes that bueth nout stronge, The minor fiends who aren’t strong,
He shulen among men yonge; They shall go among men; (see note)
135 Thilke that nulleth ageyn hem stonde, Those who will not resist them,
Ichulle he habben hem in honde! I decree that they take them in hand!
Helle-gates Y come nou to, I now arrive at hell-gates,
Ant Y wole that heo undo! And I bid that they be opened!
Wer ys nou this gateward? Where’s now this gatekeeper?
140 Me thuncheth he is a coward!” I think he’s a coward!”
“Ich have herd wordes stronge — Ianitor “I’ve heard forceful words — Gatekeeper
Ne dar Y her no lengore stonde! I don’t dare stand here any longer!
Kepe the gates whose may — Keep the gates whoever wants to —
Y lete hem stonde ant renne away!” I leave them standing and run away!”
“Louerd, Ich am David the kyng [David] "Lord, I am David the king, [David] (t-note)
That bore was of thyn ofspring. Who was born of your lineage.
Do me ase thou bihete Do to me as you promised
200 Thourh the lawe of the prophete. Through the law of the prophet.
Nou thou art come to ous, Now that you have come to us,
Bring us from this dredful hous.” Deliver us from this dreadful house.”
“David, thou were bore of my kyn. Dominus “David, you were born of my kin. Lord
For thi godnesse art thou myn, For your goodness you are mine,
205 More for thi godnesse More for your goodness
Then for eny sibnesse.” Than for any kinship.”
“Johan, Johan, Ich wot ful wel Dominus “John, John, I acknowledge fully Lord
220 Whet thou seidest everuch del — What you’ve said, every word — (t-note)
Thou shalt seo whet Y shal do You shall see that I will do
That Y seyde er the to.” What I said before to you.”
“Louerd, thou knowest al wyth skyl Moyses “Lord, you wisely know all Moses
The lawe of Synay upon the hyl. The law of Sinai upon the hill.
225 Ich am Moyses the prophete, I am Moses the prophet,
That hueld the lawes that thou byhete, Who held the laws wherein you vowed
That thou, Jesu, Godes Sone, That you, Jesus, God’s Son,
Woldest to the helle come, Would come to hell,
Ant that thou woldest come to bete And that you would come to atone for (see note)
230 The sunnes that Adam thohte suete.” The sins that Adam considered sweet.”
“Moyses, that Ich hihte the Dominus “Moses, what I ordered you to do Lord (see note); (t-note)
In the Olde Lawe, thou dudest me, By the Old Law, you did for me, (t-note)
Ant alle the other that mine buen And all the others who are mine
Shule to blisse with me tuen. Shall proceed to bliss with me.
235 They that nolden on me leven They who wouldn’t believe in me
Shule with Sathanas bileven. Shall remain with Satan.
Ther hue shulen wonen ay There they shall dwell forever
O that come Domesday.” Till the coming of Doomsday.” (see note)
God, for is moder love, [Narrator] May God, for his mother’s love, [Narrator]
240 Let us never thider come! Let us never come thither!
Louerd, for thi muchele grace, Lord, by your abundant grace,
Graunte us in heovene one place. Grant us a place in heaven.
Let us never be forloren Let us never be damned
For no sunne, Crist ycoren. For any sin, as Christ’s chosen. (t-note)
245 Ah, bring us out of helle-pyne, Ah, bring us out of hell-pain,
Louerd, ous ant alle thyne, Lord, us and all that’s yours,
Ant yef us grace to libbe ant ende And give us grace to live and die
In thi service ant to hevene wende. In your service and go to heaven.
Amen. Amen.
FOOTNOTES
ABBREVIATIONS: AND: Anglo-Norman Dictionary; ANL: Anglo-Norman Literature: A Guide to Texts and Manuscripts (R. Dean and Boulton); BL: British Library
(London); Bodl.: Bodleian Library (Oxford); CCC: Corpus Christi College (Cambridge); CUL: Cambridge University Library (Cambridge); IM EV: The Index of Middle
English Verse (Brown and Robbins); IM EV Su ppl.: Supplement to the Index of Middle English Verse (Robbins and Cutler); M ED: Middle English Dictionary; M W M E: A
Manual of the Writings in Middle English, 1050–1500 (Severs et al.); NIM EV: A New Index of Middle English Verse (Boffey and Edwards); NLS: National Library of
Scotland (Edinburgh).
2 strif. The MED defines the word in this context as “battle, war,” but the contest recounted is also intensely verbal and legalistic.
5 hys. “His own.” Possessive pronouns (his, mine, thine), used as substantives and bandied between Jesus and Satan, are a recurring feature of their debate over who
possesses jurisdiction over the virtuous souls who currently reside in hell. This device underscores the legal argument: Who has robbed whom? Who rightfully holds
dominion over the souls? What belongs judicially to Jesus and what to Satan?
36 losen us from the qued. This line bears a double sense: “to deliver us from evil” and “to release us from the contract.” See MED, quede (n.(1)), “evil, wickedness,” and
quede (n.(2)), “promise, agreement, contract.”
43 The speech marker does not appear in the manuscript. For the sense of this line, see MED, gon (v.), sense 10(b), and gate (n.(2)), sense 2(e).
69 lay. “Domain, region.” See MED, lei (n.), sense 1.(a), which cites this line: “the area or region governed by a system of law; domain, country.”
79 bilevest. “Give up, abandon”; see MED, bileven (v.(1)), sense 1.(b).
81 Par ma fey. Satan speaks French in mock courtesy, and the phrase “by my faith” is itself sarcastic when uttered by the devil.
83 Resoun. This word carries an array of legal meanings: justice; fundamental principle; reckoning; compensation or payment. See MED, resoun (n.(2)), especially senses 4,
5, and 6.
108 ambes aas. Double aces, that is, a low score; misfortune. See MED,amber-as (n.).
134 yonge. Even though the first letter is a y, not a yogh or a g, the intended word is gonge, “gone”; compare Debate between Body and Soul (art. 22), line 78: Up hit shal
aryse anon ant to the dom gonge.
229 bete. “Atone for, make amends for”; see MED, beten (v.(2)), sense 2.
231 hihte. “Ordered, commanded”; see MED, hoten, (v.(1)), sense 3a.(e). The patriarchal sequence moves from Adam’s infraction of God’s command to Moses’s upholding of
the law.
238 The reminder of Doomsday links this work to the next item, the body-and-soul debate.
ABBREVIATIONS: As: Aspin; Bö: Böddeker; Bos: Bossy; Br: Brook; BS: Bennett and Smithers; BZ: Brandl and Zippel; B13: Brown 1932; B14: Brown 1952; DB: Dunn
and Byrnes; Deg: Degginger; Do: Dove 1969; Gr: Greene 1977; Ha: Halliwell; Hal: Hall; Hol: Holthausen; Hor1: Horstmann 1878; Hor2: Horstmann 1896; Hu: Hulme;
JL: Jeffrey and Levy; Ju: Jubinal; Kel: Keller; Ken: Kennedy; Le: Lerer 2008; Mc: McKnight; Mi: Millett; MR: Michelant and Raynaud; Mo: Morris and Skeat; MS: MS
Harley 2253; Mu: H. M. R. Murray; Pa: Patterson; Pr: Pringle 2009; Rei: Reichl 1973; Rev1: Revard 2004; Rev2: Revard 2005b; Ri1: Ritson 1877; Ri2: Ritson 1885; Ro:
Robbins 1959; Sa: Saupe; Si: Silverstein; St: Stemmler 1970; Tr: Treharne; Tu: Turville-Petre 1989; Ul: Ulrich; W1: Wright 1839; W2: Wright 1841; W3: Wright 1842;
W4: Wright 1844; WH: Wright and Halliwell.
197 [David]. A modern hand has written David in the right margin.
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